Oil-engine.



' P. P. DEMPSEY.

OiL ENGINE.

APPLICATION FlLED MAY 19, HHS.

- Patelited May1,1917.

/IVVNTO n A TTORNEY S. I

PETER r. DEMPSEY', on NEW YORK, n. Y.

cit-Enema.

Specification of Iletters Patent.

Patented May 1,1917.

Application filed May 19, 1916. Serial No. 98,505.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PETER P. DEMPsnY, a citizen of the United States, whose residence and post-office address is in the borough of Manhattan of the city of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil-Engines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

In a co-pending case, filed by the present applicant on May 15, 1915, Ser. No 28,277, there is disclosed an oil engine in which the fuel is carried into the cylinder as a rich nonexplosive vapor and there con verted into an explosive mixture by the in troduction into the cylinder of a supplemental supply of air, at the bottom of the stroke of the piston. As pointed out in that case, it is necessary, in the successful operation of a high speed oil engine to have the valves positively controlled so that the inflowing fluids may at all times be introduced or expolled in invariable quantities and at pre determined times in the cycle of operations. In the coendingcase the rich vapor was controlled y positively actuated inlet valves and the burnt gases were exhausted past a -positivcly controlled exhaust valve, while the supplemental quantity of air was admitted past a port in the cylinder wall which was overrun by the piston. The present invention is concerned with an engine in which the explosive mixture is formed by the addition of a supplemental quantity of air after the introduction into the cylinder of a rich nonexplosive vapor. The improved engine may be better adapted for certain conditions of operation than that disclosed in the copending case and it has the further advantage that the cylinder itself may he of ordinary construction and need not be formed with a port through its wall for the introduction of the air. In accordance with the invention the rich vapor is drawn in in the usual man ncr and a sup- .plcincntal quantityof air suliicient to form an explosive mixture is admitted, under the control of positively actuated distributing devices, at a predetermined point in the piston strokc. In the particular form illustrated, it is proposed that the additional quantity of air shall be admitted to the inlet passage at a point near thecngine cylinder and between the cylinder and the heater for the hydrocarbon. The distributor. for

controlling the inflow of the additional quantity of air, in proper phase relation to the cycle 'of operations in the several cylinders (when the engine is a multi-cylinder engine) is driven by the crank shaft and is intended to admit the-additional quantity of air during the latter part of the piston stroke, during which part-the air enters with a portion of the hydrocarbon vapor. It is important, in the successful operation of the improved engine, that the air shall be admitted at atmospheric pressure and I temperature and shall have the effect of cooling the heated vapor appreciably so that the initial compression 1 temperature of the mixtureshall be relatively low, as is desirable. -The details of'construction of the improved devices by which the engine is 'operated in an advantageous and hitherto unknown manner, will appear-in the following description of the accompanying drawings wherein is illustrated, by way of example,

an improved engine embodying the invention'and in which Figure 1 is a view, somewhat .conventional, showing in side elevation, theapplication of "the improved distributing and heating devices to a fourrylinder engine of standard construction. Fig. 2 is a ,fi'agmel'itary view, partly in side elevation and partly in section taken along the plane indicated by the line 2'2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows and showing particularly the point of introduction of the additional air with.

Fig. 5 is a detail view-of the rotary dis- While it will be evident as the description proceeds that the invention is to be embodied in a four-cycle hydrocarlmn engine, it is to be noted that in' no other respect is it concerned with the character of the engine, and that while it has been necessary, in the interest of clcarness, to illustrate, in some detail, a particular form of heater and a satisfactory type of air distributor,

ers and distributers equally adaptable for the carrying out of the contemplated method of operation. The engine a shown in Fig.

1 may be supposed to comprise four cylin ders to which the rich nonexplosive vapor is tobe led through a suitable heater 6 mounted at one side'ofthe-cylinders and communicating through the passage 7) with the inlet ports a of each of the cylinders, these ports being intended to be controlled, in turn, by the usual positively actuated inlet valves (not illustrated). The vaporizer for the hydrocarbon is shown conventionally at c and may comprise a chamber into which a hydrocarbon fuel, such as kerosene, is sprayed from a supply pipe 0, this vapor taking up a relatively limited quantity of air which may pass into the chamber 0 through a restricted air inlet port 0 The vapor thus formed is so rich as to be practically nonexplosive. From the vaporizer c the rich charge is led through the heater 1) where it is raised to a relatively high temperature and then led from the passage 0. through the ports. a into the respective cylinders, as required. This charge being nonexplosive must have added thereto, before compression, a sufficient quantity of air to form an explosive mixture. In the present invention this air is led into the cylinders through the usual inlet passages a and past the usual inlet valves (not illustrated). It is introduced into the inlet passage for the charge at some point between the heater Z) and the inlet port a of each cylinder. For

'convenience in manufacture and application, there has beenshown an auxiliary air inlet pipe d carried directly from the heater '1) and communicating with the fuel passage I) through two branch. ducts d, d. This air is derived from a distributer casing c which is open to the atmosphere through a port e in which may be mounted a butterfly valve 'e susceptible of manual control to regulate the quantity of air entering the easing. Since the present invention contemplates the, introduction of the additional quantity of air into each cylinder at a predetermined time in the cycle of operations it becomes necessary to provide mechanical de-' vices, timed properly with relation to the crank shaft, to admit the air periodically, as required for each cylinder, and cut off entirely the air during the rest of the cycle of operation. This timed admission or distribution is effected in accordance with the illustrated embodiment by means of a rotating disk valve 7 in which are formed as many ports 7' as there are cylinders (four) and to which constant rotation is given from the crank shaft as by a sprocket drive indicated conventionally at 7. In the wall of the casing against which this rotating valve bears there is formed a single port e in communication with the air pipe d and the air within the casing e, at atmospheric temperature and'pre'ssure, is permitted to flow through the port 6 into the pipe (1, whenever any one of the ports f in the ratating disk 7 registers with said port a. When no port f is in registry with the port e air is cut off from the cylinders.

In operation the rich fuel formed in the vaporizer 0 is drawn through the heater 5 by the suction in the cylinders and is ad-'. mitted into the roper cylinder through the inlet port a. t a predetermined time of the piston stroke, say, during the latter portion thereof, a port 7' is carried into registry with the port 6 in the distributing casing and a predetermined quantity of air is admitted into the cylinder through the pipe (Z, passage b and inlet port a. At the instant the required quantity is thus admitted, the rotating valve f blanks the port 6 and cuts oil the air, thereby insuring the proper mixture within the cylinder. Of course, the quality of this mixture and, through it, the speed of the engine, may be controlled, through manual manipulation of the hutterfly valve 6 in the air distributer. In this way, it may be said that the speed of the engine is controlled by regulation of the quantity of air.

It is to be understood that during the inflow of the additional quantity of air, the rich vapor continues to flow into the cylinder so that by introducing the'air atia point between-the heater and the cylinder the air goes in at atmospheric pressure and temperature and serves to cool that portion of the mixture which it picks up and also to cool the heated vapor within-thecylinder. This lowering of the initial temperature is most desirable in the operation of engines with heavy fuels since the temperature of such fuels after complete vaporization is unduly high. Another factor which is' of importance, in the improved engine, is the provision of positively actuatedfdistributing means for the air since such positive actuation insures a prompt inflow and cut-off parting from the. spirit of the invention. .For instance, the valve might be of the sleeve type. WVhile it has been sought to emphasize that many structural changes may be made without changing the method of operation, it is to be kept in mind that the particular relative disposition of fuel and air and the 3 type of control provided therefor, are both essential to the successful practice of the invention and it is not intended that any modi engine '-l1aving a cylinder and a piston,-

means for operating the same comprising a source of oil, a carbureting device, an air inlet duct through which a limited quantity of air insuflicient to form an explosive mixture is admitted to the carbureting chamber, a heating chamber throu h which the rich mixture is drawn from t e carbureting device, a valve controlled connection from said chamber into the engine cylinder, an independent air inlet duct communicating with said last named connection and an independent positively actuated valve to control said duct to admit a predetermined quantity of air at atmospheric pressure and temperature, at a predetermined point in the piston stroke for the purpose of forming an explosive mixture.

2. Inia high speed multi-cylinder internal c ol'nbustion engine having pistons, means for operating the, same comprising a source of oil, a carbureting device, an airinlet duct through which a limited "quantity of air insuliicient to form an explosive mixture is admitted to the carbureting chamber, a heating chamber through which the rich mixture is drawn from the carbureting device, a valve controlled connection from said chamber into the engine cylinders, and an air distributor operable to admit a predetermined quantity of air to the said connection for 'the respective cylinders at a predetermined time in each piston stroke for the purpose of forming an explosive mixture.

3. In a high speed multi-cylinder internal combustion engine having pistons, means for operating the same comprising a source of oil, a carbureting device, an air inlet duct through which a limited quantity of air insuflicient toform an explosive mixture is admitted to the carbureting chamber, a heating chamber through which the rich -mixture is drawn from the carbureting device, a "alve controlled connection from said chamber into the engine cylinders, an air distributer operable to admit a predetermined quantity of air to the said connection for the respective cylinders at a predetermined time in each piston stroke for the purpose of tormmg an explosive mix ture, and amanually controlled valve to admit air to said distributer in desired quantities to control the speed of the engine.

4. In a high speed multi-cylinder internal combustion engine having, pistons, means for operating the same comprising a source of oil, a carbureting device, an air inlet duct through which a limited quantity of air insuflicient to form an explosive mixture is admitted to the carburetln chamber, a heating chamber through whic the rich mixture is drawn from the carbureting device, a valve controlled connection from said chamber into the engine cylinders, an air distributor carried on the heater and operable to admit a predetermined quantity of air to the said connection and a manually controlled valve to control the admission of air to said distributor.

This specification signed this 18th day of May, A. D. 1916.

PETER DEMPSEY. 

